International tourism, expenditures in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: International tourism, expenditures was 3.3% in 2020. ▼ Falling
International tourism, expenditures in Bulgaria, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in % of total imports.
Analysis
In 2020, international tourism, expenditures in Bulgaria stood at 3.3%.
The figure is down 37.1% on the previous year and down 8.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures in Bulgaria peaked at 12.1% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 2011.
That places Bulgaria 102nd out of 186 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of total imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 4.8% | — |
| 1996 | 5.3% | +10.0% |
| 1997 | 8.3% | +57.4% |
| 1998 | 10.9% | +31.4% |
| 1999 | 11.4% | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 10.0% | -12.5% |
| 2001 | 9.7% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 11.6% | +19.3% |
| 2003 | 12.1% | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 11.5% | -5.3% |
| 2005 | 9.0% | -21.5% |
| 2006 | 8.0% | -11.3% |
| 2007 | 6.1% | -24.0% |
| 2008 | 6.3% | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 7.2% | +13.5% |
| 2010 | 3.6% | -49.7% |
| 2011 | 3.1% | -13.3% |
| 2012 | 3.2% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 3.7% | +16.3% |
| 2014 | 3.9% | +6.4% |
| 2015 | 4.2% | +7.4% |
| 2016 | 5.2% | +22.2% |
| 2017 | 5.5% | +6.8% |
| 2018 | 5.4% | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 5.3% | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 3.3% | -37.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.1% | 4.8% | 11.4% | 5 |
| 2000s | 9.2% | 6.1% | 12.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.3% | 3.1% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More private sector data for Bulgaria
- Merchandise trade 83.5% (2025)
- Food imports 13.2% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.0% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 60.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 15.2% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 53.4% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 48.32 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,511 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3695 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 0.8979 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures in Bulgaria?
- International tourism, expenditures in Bulgaria was 3.3% in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 12.1% in 2003.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 2011.
- How does Bulgaria rank for international tourism, expenditures?
- Bulgaria ranks 102nd out of 186 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, expenditures rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Their share in imports is calculated as a ratio to imports of goods and services, which comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from nonresidents to residents of general merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and services.